lostcarnival | ⇨ WYLD HUNT

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⇨ WYLD HUNT

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 100
Where: Shabondamashii
What: The Wyld Hunt unexpectedly crashes the Shabon's dimension, leaving chaos in its wake. Those that have been with the carnival for a while might recognize it as the personal army of a fae called the Huntsman - also known as one of the Ringmaster's age old rivals, whom she dethroned thousands of years ago. The last we heard of him, he was pursuing the carnival, and it turns out he found them faster than anyone thought.
Warnings: Violence, theoretical cannibalism.

THE AUTUMN MOON↴

There isn't any warning. You might not even notice what's happening at first, with the approach of the threat happening as spontaneously as a zombie uprising. You're minding your own business, enjoying Shabon, when a random alien charges you on foot with sudden and aggressive intent. Whether or not you can throw them off or defeat them, you'll soon find they weren't alone. An entire army is descending upon the city now, and the carnival is the target.

► THEY ARE LEGION: The Wyld Hunt comes in all shapes and sizes, with beasts and men from all kinds of different universes having been caught up in its sway. Those that have been in the Hunt for a long while have more or less completely lost themselves - they now function only as part of a pack, hunting whatever the Huntsman wishes and consuming what their prey leaves behind upon death. Some members of the Hunt are newer and more unsure, but they are all a part of a psychic hive mind that compels them to move as a unit. Everyone in the Wyld Hunt instinctively know what the Huntsman wants them to do, even if they never speak to him.

Their skills, powers, and physicalities are all over the board, but there are a notably large quantity of Wyld Fae among them, often being used as mounts by more powerful humanoids within the Hunt. When NPCing members of the Hunt for threading purposes there is a lot of flexibility to what you face, including entities and beasts from your own worlds - provided they are creatures capable of functioning independently.

► HUNT OR BE HUNTED: When set upon by the Hunt, it is easy to become overwhelmed. Unfortunately, in that situation, the only way to beat them is to join them. Beginning to hunt alongside the others will immediately pacify them against you. As soon as you start to follow, the thrum of the Huntsman's will will start to take over - the more you hunt, the harder it is to turn away from it. If you do stop, or successfully oppose the compulsion, they will be quick to set upon you again. Like the others, you will feel the craving to consume any individuals the Hunt has felled - you must resist this, because once you have eaten the prey of the Hunt, you'll be trapped within it indefinitely.

► WORN OUT WELCOME: The people of Shabon are used to crisis, but this is a bit beyond what even they are prepared to tolerate. The Hunt will be causing collateral, both of the human and the material sort. While the workers in Shabon have very well practiced escape procedures in the event of something like this, the other guests are not as fortunate. Plenty of them are capable of fighting back on their own, but they will not always be capable of avoiding the hordes. The longer this goes on, the worse it will get. Eventually, the Shabon workers will realize who the Hunt is after and start actively trying to turn carnival members over to them in order to make it stop.

► IN TWO PARTS: Tragically, this turn of events and the realization that she's managed to put everyone in danger once again will be what finally causes the Ringmaster to split in two. One side will immediately become disinterested in using violence to counter this problem, while the other will be desperate and reckless. This will also completely screw her ability to get anyone back to the carnival in time. There will be at least one Megathread dealing with her actions during this.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a conflict the carnival is meant to survive, not win. The main point of this is to get the plot rolling in a new direction, so don't worry about figuring out how to defeat the Huntsman, because in this moment it basically won't be possible. Have fun threading out the crisis, and see where it leads. I wanted to be up front about that, as opposed to letting everyone grasp at straws to prevent a result that will be inevitable, even if the details will shift.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Peridot flushes at Amethyst's jab, but snickers in a good natured sort of way. "Yeah, well, at least Ignatius has a chance to get back what was taken from him upon capture," she teases, elbowing Amethyst right back. "You know. Because you threw the crucial piece of MY identity at the time into the ocean? Ha! Nostalgia."

That brief moment of levity aside, she sobers up right quick when getting back to the task at hand. "I agree with Childermass. This was never supposed to be about getting something out of Ignatius... At least, I never thought so. We were just supposed to assess when we thought he had proven himself trustworthy enough to have it back, and, talking through this has made me realize that... I think he has."

"Haha," says Amethyst awkwardly, her grin kind of freezing. "Yeah, uh... let's give it back."

"However," Childermass moves on to add, raising his hand for a pause after the two gems have spoken up. "Before a third agrees, we should speak with Rita. If she not having any deals beforehand has her changing her mind, this is all for naught."

"For nothing," he repeats, staring straight at all of them. Well, whether Ignatius was just as good of a conman as Tyki in keeping his own intentions and natures hidden or not, this was going to be interesting and at least somewhat entertaining to watch.

"Fair enough. Just Rita," he agrees. He would rather leave Strange out of this given he seemed to vote for Ignatius regardless.

He holds his hands up, just to show he won't pull the trigger then, so to speak.

"Call 'er up."

And Childermass does just that, picking his radio up off his belt to call her.

"Ms. Mordio," he says into it once he's switched the frequency, "if you would be so good as to join us where we've gathered."

Edited 2018-09-26 04:43 (UTC)

Upon receiving Childermass's abrupt call, Rita gives her radio a confused look... but it doesn't take long to figure out what he's getting at, and where he intends for her to go. It's only a couple minutes later that she finds the group. Since arriving at the fortified temple, she's changed out of her yukata and into the armor she'd stored away.

She approaches the group, looking each of the participants over. The presence of Peridot and Shima seems to confirm her suspicions. Tyki and Amethyst are a surprise, though...

"This is about the Heart, isn't it?" she says, folding her arms and facing whoever seems ready to offer a full explanation of the current situation.

The explanation she seeks certainly won't be coming from Peridot. She's already pretty much convinced that this is the right course of action, and she'd rather let the two skeptics phrase their own questions. It does briefly occur to her that between herself, Shima, and Amethyst, they could just release the heart themselves; they only need three people to break the enchantment, after all. But... She wants to see if Childermass and Tyki can be convinced. She wants this decision to be a unanimous one, if that's at all possible.

Rather than saying anything, she confirms Rita's suspicions: She lifts her gauntlet-clad hand up. The stone embedded in it glows briefly, and she summons the fiery egg containing Ignatius's domain into the palm of her hand, letting it sit on display for a few brief moments, before casting it back into hammer-space once more.

Well, if Peridot isn't going to explain it, Childermass, being the other supervisor present, may as well. He puts his radio away and turns towards Rita. As ever, he maintains a neutral expression, giving away nothing positive nor negative about this entire situation. Which is a little difficult, to be honest, what with a horde of fae and monsters outside the walls hoping to eat them...

"It is," he confirms. "The Ringmaster tasked us with observing Ignatius and deciding when would be the best time to return his Heart to him, if ever that time did exist." That's all the background she needs on that. "As such, we're not too happy with current events forcing our hand early, which is why I've called you here. Just how much do you trust Ignatius, Ms. Mordio?"

Edited 2018-09-26 15:01 (UTC)

Despite everything, Tyki is still a good worker. He gives room for a Supervisor to go first and he waits for Childermass, one who managed to keep his mouth shut during this whole affair over others who blabbed information, to speak. Precise and to the point, given they are on borrowed time, is what needs to be maintained and he does not disagree.

"It's something we want your honest opinion on, especially now, Miss Mordio," he speaks bluntly. His answer otherwise would've been an easy no, "Ignore everything going on around us and be truthful."

"Ignore everything going on around us?" Amethyst snorts. "Sheesh, it's not like the whole reason we wanna do this is because we're getting our butts kicked by the Wyld Hunt or anything!"

Rita's eyes widen when Peridot reveals the Heart... or the egg containing it, anyway. To think it was this close all along...

But there's little time to dwell on that, as she has a question to answer. "It's not an easy question. I don't even know if 'trust' is the right word..." It's one Rita hesitates to use with her allies, much less her enemies.

"...But I think that in this instance, at least, Ignatius won't betray us. He's already given his word that, should we give him his Heart back, he'll use his power to protect us. He's not the type to lie, and unlike most fae, he doesn't play word games, either. When he says he'll do something, I believe he'll do it. I can't say what he'll do after the danger's passed, though..." Will he return to the Summer Court? Will he use what he knows about the Carnival against them? She'd be lying if she said she wasn't worried.

She pauses, seemingly considering whether or not to continue. After a few seconds, she does, with some reluctance. "Back there... he said he wants us to survive." Did he say it to them, or did he say it to Rita? She's not certain, but to Rita, it makes little difference. "I don't understand it, but I think that was true, too."

"And if he was not obliged to keep his word on this? Would you still return his heart then?"

That's what Childermass's follow-up is and for good cause.

Edited 2018-09-26 19:48 (UTC)

That seems to catch Rita off guard.

"...What do you mean? Why wouldn't he be?"

Correction. That is the reason they wanted to do this. Tyki was not so easily convinced by a doomed or desperate situation. Yet the way Amethyst relates it doesn't stroke his ire. It at least calms him enough not to say anything aggressive. He knows this could've been over with already given the other three likely could just say yes.

"I trust the Ringmaster and her want for this situation. I do not believe the Heart was ever something to be used to force him to do anything," he says carefully.

"Tyki has the right of it," Childermass agrees. "It is not a bargaining chip, Ms. Mordio, nor was it ever yours to offer in exchange for his word. We will not be requiring him to keep his word, nor follow any deal or contract made. Knowing that, would you still see his heart returned?"

Subconsciously, Peridot paces to be a bit closer to Amethyst, though her focus is still on Rita. "I'll add this-- and, keep in mind, you're hearing this only because, regardless of your final answer, I have faith in you to not to go around blabbing this information to everyone else: The Ringmaster didn't want to be the one to dictate when Ignatius got his powers back. She explicitly wanted the rest of us to decide when he'd earned our trust enough to walk among us with his full destructive capabilities intact."

Rita's expression sours slightly as the others speak. She considers arguing, but opts instead to grit her teeth and let it slide. This is too important to turn into bickering.

Peridot's request is the easiest to answer, so Rita starts with that. "You can trust me not to blab, but it might be a bit late, considering Strange already caught on to you and Shima... and wasted no time in running his mouth in front of Ignatius."

Rita had suspected for a while that certain Carnival members knew a thing or two about the Heart's whereabouts, but she'd opted not to follow up on those suspicions, because in her view, the Heart was better left hidden. That, and she was afraid of Ignatius acting against anyone revealed to have that knowledge. But then, even when Peridot and Shima were singled out in front of the fae, he didn't seem to take that as an opportunity. Perhaps it was because he was being presented with an even better opportunity, but maybe...

"...You're all serious?" she asks, seemingly still mulling over Childermass's question. She didn't expect this at all, and it takes some processing. "You'd rather just give it to him without any guarantees?"

"That's because Strange is a fool in love," Childermass mutters, shooting a look Shima's way. Seriously, of all the people he had to pick at about Ignatius... Oh well. It can't really be helped now. He returns his attention to Rita and, rather than answer anything she just asked, he reminds her, "You haven't given us your answer."

"Just don't address us further. Last thing any of us needs is anyone hounding us for further information," he states. He, for one, would simply avoid the topic if asked. Even if Ignatius figured out the pattern, hounding him would do no one any good. He looks towards Childermass as he speaks and simply nods, taking a page from his book. He is serious about this given it was a trusted task from the Ringmaster but he does want to hear her answer.

Amethyst shrugs at Rita's question.

"Well yeah, if he helps us out that's great, but if he doesn't wanna and we make him then it's probably gonna bite us in the butt later."

"Ta be honest, he seems like the kinda guy who responds well ta being told it's gotta be a proper exchange," he shrugs, offering his view on it. "It just wasn't meant ta be used ta force his hand is all, so I guess it's fair ta wanna know if we offered it up without a demand for a favor, if ya still think it'd be worth the risk."

Edited (edits central!!) 2018-09-27 01:54 (UTC)

Rita sighs, her gaze low and focused somewhere that isn't on anyone in particular.

"Personally, I think Shima's got it right. Ignatius is a pragmatic sort, and he's never had any illusions about his situation here. The deal was his idea to begin with, so it's not like we'd be forcing him into anything..." There's also the fact that, having already given his word, he wouldn't be all that likely to back down on it even if everyone relaxed their expectations.

But that still isn't an answer to their question. In truth, Rita's still trying to figure out what her feelings actually are on the matter.

"Given the present situation... I wouldn't be opposed to it. Giving his Heart back, I mean." The answer comes slowly, reluctantly. "I don't like the idea of doing so without a deal in place, but if it's between that and trying to fend off the Wyld Hunt ourselves, it's still a risk worth taking."

Well... It's not exactly the ringing endorsement Peridot was hoping for...

She grumbles wordlessly for a moment, deep in thought.

"Technically, he does have 'illusions'," she says finally. "Said illusions being that he is nothing more than a prisoner of war here, when the Ringmaster never really saw it that way, or wanted it interpreted as such. She separated him from his heart to protect the rest of us, so he could have the time to be exposed to our ways and see that his assumptions were incorrect."

"After the whole incident at the Athenaeum, I had the chance to speak to her while she was still deciding how to handle containing him. At the time she said she hoped that he'd see the truth by spending time among our population... I don't know if he's reached that point yet, but. It seems like he's at least getting close. And if he's supposed to learn from us 'mortals'--" she uses the air quotes here because she definitely DOES NOT see herself as such, but, fae terminology-- "I think it would be going against what the Ringmaster is trying to accomplish, to arrange the return of his powers like a fae would."

She shrugs. "Perhaps to put things more succinctly: The most important thing is that I'm pretty confident he isn't going to immediately incinerate the lot of us if he gets the heart back."

Amethyst does a finger guns at Peridot and makes a popping sound with her mouth, which can be assumed to mean that she agrees with that.

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